CFX vs. FLS: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

FLS

Investors interested in stocks from the Manufacturing - General Industrial sector have probably already heard of Colfax and Flowserve (FLS - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Colfax has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Flowserve has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that CFX is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

CFX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.93, while FLS has a forward P/E of 28.32. We also note that CFX has a PEG ratio of 1.34. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. FLS currently has a PEG ratio of 1.70.

Another notable valuation metric for CFX is its P/B ratio of 1.12. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, FLS has a P/B of 3.53.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to CFX's Value grade of B and FLS's Value grade of D.

CFX sticks out from FLS in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that CFX is the better option right now.

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